Accountability: Building Trust through Transparency

Author: Dr. Anna Neya Kazanskaia
Publisher: NEYA Global Publishing
Year: 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64357/accountability-2025

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About the Book

Accountability: Building Trust through Transparency examines accountability as a cornerstone of legitimacy in the non-profit sector. Unlike corporations accountable to shareholders or governments accountable to electorates, non-profits navigate a more complex landscape of multiple stakeholders with diverse and sometimes competing expectations. Accountability thus becomes both a procedural mechanism and an ethical practice essential to sustaining trust, legitimacy, and organizational resilience.

This book situates accountability within theoretical and practical frameworks, exploring principal–agent, stewardship, stakeholder, and legitimacy perspectives. It highlights the dual dimensions of accountability: instrumental compliance with regulations, donor requirements, and financial oversight; and intrinsic responsibility to communities, missions, and ethical principles.

Through comparative analysis and illustrative case studies of large INGOs, grassroots NGOs, and networked coalitions, the book shows how accountability mechanisms operate differently across contexts. It examines both compliance-driven frameworks and participatory approaches that rebalance accountability toward beneficiaries. By analyzing risks, limitations, and ethical dilemmas alongside technological and cultural innovations, the book offers a critical yet constructive perspective.

Ultimately, it positions accountability not only as a control mechanism but also as a negotiation of power, legitimacy, and trust. It provides practical insights for non-profit leaders, donors, policymakers, and researchers seeking to strengthen transparency and resilience in civil society.

Key Topics

Concepts and frameworks of accountability in non-profits
Compliance, power, and sectoral challenges
Innovations in digital and participatory accountability
Case studies: INGOs, grassroots NGOs, and coalitions
Comparative lessons and best practices
Technological and cultural innovations
Ethical dilemmas and risks in accountability practices
Future directions in strengthening transparency

Academic Value

The book bridges theory and practice by analyzing accountability as both a procedural necessity and an ethical responsibility. It contributes to scholarship in governance, public administration, and development studies while also offering practical guidance for the non-profit sector. By highlighting accountability as a balance of power, ethics, and compliance, it deepens understanding of how legitimacy is maintained and strengthened under conditions of scrutiny and change.

Citation Formats

APA
Kazanskaia, A. N. (2025). Accountability: Building Trust through Transparency. NEYA Global Publishing. https://doi.org/10.64357/accountability-2025

MLA
Kazanskaia, Anna Neya. Accountability: Building Trust through Transparency. NEYA Global Publishing, 2025. https://doi.org/10.64357/accountability-2025

Chicago
Kazanskaia, Anna Neya. Accountability: Building Trust through Transparency. NEYA Global Publishing, 2025. https://doi.org/10.64357/accountability-2025

Harvard
Kazanskaia, A.N., 2025. Accountability: Building Trust through Transparency. NEYA Global Publishing. Available at: https://doi.org/10.64357/accountability-2025

IEEE
A. N. Kazanskaia, Accountability: Building Trust through Transparency. NEYA Global Publishing, 2025. doi: https://doi.org/10.64357/accountability-2025

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About the Author

Dr. Anna Neya Kazanskaia is the founder and CEO of NEYA Global Education, Philanthropy & Consulting. She is the author of over 100 books on non-profit governance, philanthropy, and strategy. With a BA in philosophy and politics, an LLM in law, and a Ph.D. in technology, education, and management, she brings a rare interdisciplinary perspective. Her work provides leaders, practitioners, and academics with frameworks to strengthen legitimacy, transparency, and impact in civil society.